Scrap Drive Clean

Ontario PCs call for Drive Clean program to be scrapped Liberals plan to keep Drive Clean running indefinitely with support of NDP ST. CATHARINES Only the Ontario PC Party would put a stop to the Liberals’ plan to keep the province’s temporary Drive Clean program running indefinitely, PC Environment Critic and Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris said today.... Andrea Horwath and the NDP have offered the Liberals their unconditional support to continue Drive Clean for as long as possible even though 95% of vehicles pass emissions-testing, Harris said. Forcing Ontario drivers to waste their time and hard-earned cash to pay for an unnecessary Drive Clean test proves the Liberals’ concern isn’t about the environment it’s just about the money. Harris made his comments today at Subaru of Niagara where he and St. Catharines PC Candidate Mat Siscoe met with the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) to discuss the effects that needless Drive Clean testing has had on drivers and dealerships across the province. A Drive Clean test is mandatory not only for drivers to keep their car on the road, but also for auto dealers selling used vehicles even if the vehicle is essentially brand new and still under the manufacturer’s warranty, said Frank Notte, spokesperson for TADA. This piece of red tape wastes time and money for dealers and consumers since we know virtually every car on the road will pass a Drive Clean test. Too many times, this test requirement bogs down vehicle sales and delays the delivery of a newly purchased car to the consumer. The fact that virtually all vehicles made within the last 15 years are passing the Drive Clean test proves that this temporary program has fulfilled its mandate and should be phased out just like B.C.’s emissions-testing program, Siscoe said. Unfortunately, Jim Bradley remains more focused on using this needless government cash-grab to prop up his government's failed agenda than supporting business owners and taxpayers in St. Catharines. Our city deserves better than this. Nearly 14,000 Ontario drivers have voiced their opposition to the province’s emissions-testing program by signing the Ontario PCs’ online petition at ScrapDriveClean.ca.

Just submitted a petition to the Legislature of Ontario at Queen's Park! http://www.youtube.com/watch

Liberals tinker with fees, vow to continue Drive Clean QUEEN’S PARK Reducing Drive Clean fees may be good enough for the Liberals and the NDP, but it’s not good enough for Ontario drivers who’ve been forced to fork over their hard-earned money to pay for unnecessary emissions testing for years, PC Environment Critic and Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris said today. Cleaner cars and fuels have rendered Drive Clean redundant, Harris said shortly after the Environment M...inister’s press conference to announce a meager $5-dollar fee reduction for next year. The NDP and the Liberals have signalled that they are willing to do whatever it takes to keep this temporary program running indefinitely. Drive Clean was set up with the very specific purpose of reducing vehicle emissions that contribute to smog until advances in fuel efficiency and standards caught up. The evidence shows that happened three years ago. From 1999 to 2010, the percentage of vehicles that failed emissions testing in Ontario had dropped from 16% to 5%. With 95% of cars passing emissions testing, the former Auditor General found in his 2012 report that the Drive Clean program had had little to no impact on reducing smog, Harris said. Instead of listening to the Auditor General’s advice and following the lead of other jurisdictions that are phasing out their emissions-testing programs, like B.C., the Liberals went in the opposite direction earlier this year by introducing a new computerized emissions test that is less reliable and more prone to error, Harris said. They made this move knowing that the program, which is supposed to be revenue-neutral, had racked up a massive surplus that’s now $19 million, Harris said. Now, that the government has been caught red-handed fleecing Ontario drivers, the Liberals and the NDP want to tinker around the edges of the program to justify its existence. That’s unacceptable. The Ontario PC Caucus believes Drive Clean should be scrapped. About 12,500 Ontario drivers have voiced their opposition to the province’s emissions-testing program by signing the Ontario PCs’ online petition at ScrapDriveClean.ca.

Liberals plan to continue Drive Clean indefinitely with NDP support QUEEN’S PARK The Liberal government has rejected numerous calls from the Ontario Progressive Conservatives to scrap the province’s redundant Drive Clean program, which has veered into becoming an illegal tax, PC Environment Critic and Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris said today. It was never the mandate of the Drive Clean program to make money. But that didn’t stop the Liberal government from illegal...ly raking in $19 million in profits over the last two years, Harris said. We immediately called the government out on this abuse of Ontarians’ money, while the NDP remained silent for nearly a full month. NDP Leader Andrew Horwath now says she wants the government to lower Drive Clean fees, yet she seems content to leave this temporary program running indefinitely. Drive Clean was set up with the very specific purpose of reducing vehicle emissions that contribute to smog until advances in fuel efficiency and standards caught up. Well, that happened three years ago, Harris said. From the program’s inception in 1999 to 2010, the percentage of vehicles that failed the previous tailpipe-emissions test had dropped from 16% to 5%, as a result advances in technology and tighter manufacturing standards. That’s why PC Leader Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus began calling on the Liberal government, more than two and a half years ago, to scrap Drive Clean, Harris said. Instead of taking a stand on this issue, the NDP have spent the last two years passing Liberal legislation and budgets that have made life more unaffordable for Ontarians. So they have absolutely no credibility to criticize the Drive Clean program now. More than 12,000 Ontario drivers have voiced their opposition to the province’s emissions-testing program by signing the Ontario PCs’ online petition at ScrapDriveClean.ca.

Liberals refuse to pay back $19 million in illegal Drive Clean taxes QUEEN’S PARK The Liberals continue to reject the Ontario PC Caucus’s demands to pay back the millions of dollars that the government took from drivers across the province using its illegal Drive Clean tax-grab, PC Environment Critic and Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris said today. I have asked the Environment Minister several times in the Legislature if the Liberal government will respect the law an...d pay back the money Ontario drivers were unlawfully forced to fork over when getting their vehicles e-tested. But every time, the Minister refuses to answer, Harris said. Unfortunately, it may take a lawsuit against the government before the Liberals finally do the right thing and pay the money back. The Supreme Court has ruled that profits made off of revenue-neutral programs, like Drive Clean, are unlawful and must be paid back. The Auditor General reported in 2012 that the Liberals had made $11 million in profits off of Drive Clean, and last week CTV News Toronto determined that number has now increased to $19 million. It is clearer than ever that the Drive Clean program has evolved into nothing more than a government tax-grab, Harris said. Given that the Liberals will not commit to pay back the $19 million they illegally took from Ontario drivers, it’s obvious that Drive Clean is not about protecting the environment; it’s just about the money. The Ontario PC Caucus and PC Leader Tim Hudak have been calling on the Liberal government to scrap Drive Clean for more than two years. This temporary program was introduced by former PC Environment Minister Norm Sterling in 1999. The point of Drive Clean was to reduce vehicle emissions until cars and fuels became cleaner. Well, that’s happened. Fuel efficiency and fuel quality standards have improved to the point at which Drive Clean no longer serves a purpose, Harris said. That’s why we and even the program’s creator, Mr. Sterling, have said it is time to begin phasing out the program.

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